The Elder Scrolls Tales - Book I: A Skyrim Tale
by ncdogg
Summary: On the way to her execution, Athena witnessed a dragon attacking the city of Helgen in Skyrim. Unfortunately for her, she had no memory of how she got there or why anything was happening. She's now on a quest to find information about her former life, save Skyrim from the threat of the dragons, and to settle the Civil War that has erupted.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: My First Day in Skyrim

The Nord woman opened her eyes, her stomach ached and she was a bit dazed, the sound of a horse carriage beneath her feet. It rattled and swayed with the rocks and bumps in the dirt path below. She grabbed her head. Her wrists were bound to each other with a tough leather strap. Her vision was a little blurry, but she could see there were figures around her.

They were men, burly, muscular men and all three had their hands bound. The Nord woman's sight crisped and she could then take in her environment. All around were evergreens and stocky shrubs that lined the road, the hills laden with snow, and mountains that saluted the horizon. The fresh aroma of bark and wild flowers settled the Nord's head. She sniffled in the brisk air and let her hot air form a cloud in front of her face.

She looked to the sky and saw it was early noon. She couldn't remember how she ended up with the men on the wooden wagon. She looked straight ahead to the man sitting in front of her, he looked to be in deep thought as he studied the floor of the carriage. A strand of braided blond hair dangled in front of his forehead, swinging with the rhythm of the cart. He appeared exhausted and as he gradually blinked, the Nord woman thought he'd fall to the floor of the cart. He raised his head, and when he noticed she had come to, he managed a grin.

"Hey, you." He half-whispered, addressing her as if 'you' were her name. "You're finally awake."

The Nord woman nodded weakly.

"You walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there." The Nord man motioned to the man next to him on the bench. The thief's hair was a light brown and his skin was paler than a snowy sabre cat. The Nord woman examined the horse thief as his eyebrows furrowed and he curled his nose at the blond man.

"Curse you, Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy." The Nord woman couldn't register 'Stormcloaks' fully, having no memory of anything beforehand, she raised an eyebrow.

"What are the Stormcloaks?" she turned back to the blond Stormcloak across from her. She noticed he wasn't dressed in prisoner's clothes, but a blue cloth draped over leather armor. He wore boots of leather and hare's skin. He opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the thief who evidently didn't hear the woman speaking. "If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and be halfway to Hammerfell."

"Hush you!" The Stormcloak spat at the thief's feet and turned back to the Nord woman. "Stormcloaks are the Nords of Skyrim, fighting the Empire for Ulfric Stormcloak."

"You there!" The horse thief ignored the Stormcloak and addressed the Nord woman. "You and me – we shouldn't be here. It's these rebels the Empire wants." The thief bobbed his head as he spoke which made the Nord woman dizzy. He seemed as if on drugs, which made the Nord feel a disconnect with him.

"How did I end up here?" She asked the thief. Stormcloaks being rebels, and she obviously not a Stormcloak since she wasn't wearing armor, their destination stirred her curiosity. How she ended up on the carriage at all was a complete mystery to her.

"Shut up back there!" the carriage driver ordered. The Nord placed her back on the carriage, sighing a breath of frustration as her questions multiplied.

"And what's wrong with him?" The thief ignored the driver's order and nodded to the man sitting beside the Nord woman.

"Watch your tongue." The Stormcloak appeared agitated, and so was the Nord woman by the thief's disregard for social etiquette. "You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King." He looked for a reaction from the Nord woman, as if to see if she would protest, but she didn't speak as she studied Ulfric, bound, gagged with a rag, and wearing a dark brown robe, its collar lined with wolf fur, his hair pulled back out of his face. His eyes were unmoved even by his follower's clear devotion to his cause.

The thief sounded astonished, he gasped as he studied the man across from him. His startle did make the Nord woman question why a Jarl, of all people, was captured and sent away with three prisoners. Unless…

"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion! But if they've captured you…"

The Nord woman ignored the thief briefly, directing her attention to the left, and noticed they were approaching a city. There were guards pacing the overhead bridge above the gates. Two guards peeled back the doors and the two carriages began their journey into the town.

"Oh gods, where are they taking us?!" The thief started to panic. The Nord woman figured he'd leap from the carriage, had there not been another guard behind, patrolling the carriages' prisoners.

"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits." The Stormcloak sounded content about his fate.

"What is 'Sovngarde'?" The Nord woman asked. Her curious tone struck the Stormcloak with surprise. After all, every Nord knew that Sovngarde was the heaven for Skyrim's bravest.

"Sovngarde is where the warriors of Skyrim go in the afterlife. A place where the mead never runs dry and there are plenty of brawls and hunts to be had." He raised an eyebrow at the woman, "How could you not know that? You are a Nord from the likes I can see, unless I be blinder than a bat."

The Nord huffed at the Stormcloak's metaphor and gazed out behind their carriage as a Nord soldier followed close behind the carriage, ensuring no prisoners would escape.

"I can't remember anything from before I woke up. I don't even know how I got here." She looked around. The city they had entered wasn't big, but there were some houses and a couple of watchtowers. They turned to the left, following the road to the main entry of the city. She knew that she was headed to her death with nothing to show for; no memory of home, a family, or any accomplishments. All the while, the horse thief had worked himself up into a panic.

"No, this can't be happening! This isn't happening!" He mumbled to himself, his leg shaking uncontrollably. He rubbed his hands together, his eyes darted back in forth; he appeared to be having Skooma withdrawals.

"Hey." The Stormcloak tried to pat the thief's leg, but his hands were bound, so he settled for a nudge with his elbow. "What village are you from, horse thief?" His voice was gentle as he tried to put the thief at ease.

"Why do you care?" The thief glared at the Stormcloak, who had previously put him in his place.

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home." The thief turned back in his seat, his eyes glazed over as he remembered his home life. The Nord woman tried to remember her home but came up empty, only remembering waking up confused on the carriage that now directed her to her death.

"Rorikstead." The thief replied, his voice shaky. "I'm… I'm from Rorikstead."

"Ah, no big village, eh? I've been there before. One summer a few years ago with my pa."

The thief nodded. He was clearly listening, but his trepidation only worsened as they neared the end with every hoof clopping on the cobblestone. The carriage then passed by a couple of guards inside the city. A soldier shouted to an Imperial on a stout horse. The horses of Skyrim were hardy, able to endure long winters, but definitely not built for speed. The appraisal of their endurance was one to be awarded for; they were able to ride for miles and endure a Frostbite spider's poison for days before needing a remedy.

The Imperial's armor was bronze, a feathery emblem on the breast plate underlined a dragon insignia in the center of his chest and mahogany red sleeves that covered a majority of his biceps. He carried a sword, sheathed in a smooth leather, decorated with steel fastenings.

"General Tullius, sir!" the solider shouted, his breath forming a cloud as he spat when he spoke. "The headsman is waiting."

"Good. Let's get this over with." The General sounded grim, but maintained a business-like composure as he led his horse in behind the carriages.

"Look at him, General Tullius the Military Governor." The Stormcloak mocked. "And it looks like the Thalmor are with him." The soldier turned to reveal her yellowed skin tone, her eyes red as she glared at the General behind his back. She wasn't dressed in armor, but rather black robes with silver lining. "Curse those elves and the magic they use. First they ban the worship of Talos… and I bet they had something to do with this." The Stormcloak spat on the carriage's wooden planks, giving the Altmer a malicious stare. The Nord was irritated by the Stormcloak's racial slurs which made her cringe as he insulted their methods of fighting. The Nord didn't care much for politics either, especially if it didn't affect her in the least. Talos? Obviously a god, but she couldn't remember who or why he was so important to the Nords of Skyrim.

"Wait… I know this place. This is Helgen." The Stormcloak immediately realized the city they had entered and looked ahead as the carriage was nearing the end of the city. "I used to be sweet on a girl from here." The Nord woman examined her surroundings; a little boy accompanied his father on an inn porch as they watched the guards drag in the prisoners on the carriages. "I wonder if Vilod is still making that mean with the juniper berries mixed in." The Stormcloak continued to reminisce.

The Nord woman could see the horse carriage ahead stopping and soon they pulled in at the left. The prisoners began to unload like a travelling farmer with bushels of vegetables.

"Whoa!" The driver shouted and their carriage jerked as it stopped. The first off was Ulfric, then the thief, then the Stormcloak. The Nord followed in behind as she glanced for a way to escape.

_This is it then… this is where my life ends._

"No! Wait!" The thief began to plead. "We're not rebels!" He motioned to the Nord woman, who backed away, not wanting to cause a commotion. They faced two Imperials, one dressed in Captain armor, steel armor with high shoulders and silver platings at the skirt. Her bracers covered her forearm and her boots rose to her knees, shining in the Skyrim sun. Her face was covered partially with a helmet, a Roman mohawk with black down lifted at least a foot from the crown of the helmet. The man next to the Imperial captain held a book in his right hand and a quill in the other. He wore the familiar Imperial armor, brown leather, plain, bracers that only covered half of the forearm, and the leather lying flat on the shoulder.

"Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time." He instructed, waving his quill as he spoke, and then he read from his list of prisoners.

"Empire loves their lists." The Stormcloak scoffed observantly. The Nord ignored him as her heart pounded in her chest with anxiety, her peripheral vision catching sight of the headsman overlooking the heads he was about to strip from the prisoner's bodies.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." The Nord soldier shouted. Ulfric stepped to the left, his head held high with pride. The Nord woman somewhat admired the superiority he maintained, but didn't quite appreciate his cocky aura.

"It's been an honor, Jarl Ulfric." The Stormcloak solemnly bowed his head to his leader.

"Ralof of Riverwood." The soldier continued with his list. The Stormcloak smiled at the Nord woman and then followed Ulfric to the chopping block not thirty feet away. She couldn't help but wonder how he kept his composure, so proud, as if he had been through these circumstances many times before. The pride that Ralof and Ulfric shared amazed the Nord. She pondered their cause and what exactly brought them to rebel against the Empire.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

The thief squirmed in his bindings. "No!" he struggled to free himself. "I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!" In an instant he darted off, towards the entry where the carriage had dragged him into Helgen. "You're not gonna catch me!"

"Halt!" The captain commanded, but Lokir kept his sprint up. "Archers!" A guard near the watchtower to the right lifted his bow and before Lokir could pass the house with the little boy, an arrow sent him collapsing to the ground.

"Anyone else feel like running?" The captain gave the Nord woman a stern look. The Nord woman took a step backward, demonstrating her submissiveness.

"Wait. You there. Step forward." The soldier pointed at the Nord woman with his quill. "Who are you?"

The Nord woman had to think of a name quick. She couldn't remember who she was or where she had come from. Bete, Helda, Senis, Thaena… then a name came to her.

"A-Athena." She stuttered, her face flushed.

"You picked a bad time to come home to Skyrim, kinsman." The soldier gazed at her, sympathy shined in his eyes. He then turned to the female captain and asked in a hushed tone, "Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list."

"Forget the list." She stated loudly. "She goes to the block." Athena was astonished. Even though she wasn't sentenced to death, they still ordered her to die.

"By your orders, Captain." The Nord soldier sounded in disagreement with his authority, still, Athena knew he was helpless in defending her life. "I'm sorry… at least you'll die here, in your homeland. Follow the Captain, prisoner." He closed his book, the quill in between the page where he read the names, and tucked it beneath his arm. Athena followed them to the left where the rest of the prisoners were lined up to die.

She stepped in beside Ralof and another Stormcloak whom she didn't recognize. Ulfric was standing in front of the general who had previously been mounted high on his horse.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use the power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne." Athena could hear the faint irritated sigh behind Ulfric's gag as he rolled his eyes. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace." The General continued, ignoring Ulfric's resist to hear his reasoning as to why he was about to be decapitated.

A faint screech then filled the chilly air, it carried far and it was formed by something big. It cried like a hawk but roared like a sabre cat. Athena glanced to the skies, but only fluffy white clouds drifted across the blue landscape. _What was that sound?_

"What was that?" The Nord soldier with the book questioned, a bit startled.

"It's nothing. Carry on." The General ordered.

"Yes, General Tullius." The Captain saluted. She stood next to a priestess and the headsman. The priestess was robed in gold and her face was hooded. She held a book up to her breast. The headsman, stared aimlessly ahead, his face covered with a black cloth and in his right hand, he advertised a large axe, stained with blood of previous prisoners.

"Give them their last rites." The Captain directed to the priestess. The priestess opened her book and waved her hand in a matter-of-fact manner. She spoke deeply, but serenely as she read the last words the prisoners would hear.

"As we commend your souls to Aestherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt of Nirn, our beloved-" she was interrupted by the Stormcloak to Athena's right who stepped forward, his hands bound, as he stood behind the chopping block.

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with!" he knelt down, ready for his life to be taken.

"As you wish." The priestess slammed the book shut, annoyed. The captain kicked the Nord in the back, knocking his head across the chopping block, blood staining his cheek. The headsman lifted the heavy axe and in a swift motion, it fell to gravity's will and the Stormcloak's head rolled off into the basket on the other side of the block. The dead Stormcloak's body flopped sideways onto the ground, blood gushing out of his severed neck.

"You Imperial bastards!" A villager groaned.

"As fearless in death as he was in life…" Ralof despondently prayed over the fellow rebel's soul.

"Next!" The captain waved a pointed finger in Athena's direction. "The Nord in the rags!" Athena's heart raced faster, sweat beads formed on her forehead, her hands became clammy.

The screech returned, closer and bolder, only a few miles ahead of Helgen. Athena once again examined the skies, but nothing was there.

"There it is again!" The Nord soldier stated the obvious. "Did you hear that?" he looked to the captain.

"I said, next prisoner." She emphasized every word as her attention never wavered away from Athena.

"To the block, prisoner, nice and easy." The Nord soldier directed Athena to the block ahead of her. Athena turned and faced the block. She looked on with disgust as the smell from old blood and the previous Stormcloak's head crept up her nose. The Captain grabbed her shoulders and shoved her to her knees. She then kicked Athena in the back, just like with the Stormcloak, until Athena's head lay across the block.

Athena gagged as the warm blood from the Stormcloak squished between the slate block and her skin. She had a clear view of the headsman and the watchtower behind him. He lifted his axe, his large arms bulging from the weight of his weapon. He lifted the axe high above his head. Athena squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the axe's cold steel to cut her head.

The roar returned again, Athena opened her eyes just in time to see a black winged figure emerge from behind the mountain.

"What in Oblivion is that?!" A guard shouted.

"Sentries! What do you see?" The captain asked.

"It's in the clouds!" The Nord soldier sounded as if he were pointing behind Athena, though she couldn't see him from her angle. The figure swooped down and then rounded the corner of Helgen's city wall and landed on the watchtower, bricks crumbled from the beast's weight. His landing caused a rumble through the earth and the headsman faltered with his axe, and then toppled over from the earthquake the monster had vibrated.

Athena had perfect view of the beast as its eyes pierced her soul, glowing a fluorescent sky blue, his scales as black as Nocturnal herself, and an incredible fifty foot wingspan.

"DRAGON!" A soldier cried in terror. Athena lifted her head, but the dragon gave a bellowing roar that sent the skies spinning, turning a charcoal gray, and as Athena pulled her legs forward to lift herself up from the block, meteors began crashing to the earth.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Unbound

"Everyone run!" Someone shouted.

"Hey, Forgotten Memory," Athena could faintly hear Ralof's voice amidst the space rocks exploding as they collided with Helgen's pavement. The dragon roared with a fury as he circled the town, people shouted in fear, villagers were sent scrambling to evacuate. "Follow me!" Ralof stood before her, where the Nord soldier with the book had previously been standing.

Athena lifted to the ground and started to follow Ralof when another meteor crashed only a few feet ahead of her, which sent her almost tripping as she stayed close to Ralof, her only sense of security, who led her into a watchtower. After Athena entered, Ralof pushed his body against the door and shut it, heaving as he finally stood before Ulfric and a couple of other Stormcloaks who had taken refuge in the tower.

"Jarl Ulfric!" Ralof almost sounded surprised that Ulfric had made it to the watchtower, "What _was_ that thing?! Could the legends be true?" he gasped for air.

Finally, Athena heard Ulfric speak, his voice was brawny and deep, confident, but underestimating of people. He no longer had his hands bound and the gag was nowhere to be seen.

"Legends don't burn down villages." Ulfric simply stated. Ralof then looked to Athena and approached her, the dragon still roaring outside.

"We need to move." He furrowed, "Now!" he commanded Athena up the tower. "Up through the tower! Let's go!" Athena followed closely behind him as they climbed the stairs of the tower. At the top, a Stormcloak tossed away bricks that blocked the rest of the path leading up through the tower.

The wall suddenly exploded as the dragon's head peered inside the tower. Athena gasped as she fell to her knees from the sheer force of the dragon's interruption. She looked at his enormous head, his eyes seemed hungry for her, and then as clear as day, he spoke.

"Yol toor shul!" He opened his great jaws, a burst of heat and flames ejected from his powerful mouth, leaving the Stormcloak burnt to a crisp. As soon as he appeared, he flew right back out to torment Helgen.

"You're okay, right?" Ralof asked Athena. Athena could only nod she was in such shock. "Okay. See that inn on the other side?" Ralof now stood in the newly created hole from the dragon.

"Yes." Athena finally breathed.

"Jump to it-" Ralof shoved Athena up the steps. She stared down at the burning inn that seemed to be a mile below. Athena gulped as she looked back at Ralof, whose sweat crawled down the side of his face and dropped to the stairs. "Hurry!" he shouted.

Athena breathed in, she scanned the inn for an opening, and then closed her eyes as she leaped from the watchtower. She landed with a roll on the second floor of the inn. Smoke smothered her lungs as she searched for a way out. At the other end of the inn, she spotted a gaping hole in the floor where the dragon had burned part of the inn. She sprinted to it and dropped down to the first floor of the inn and then out into Helgen. After recovering her footing, she glanced around.

Women were carrying children, holding the small heads of their babies to their breasts as they squealed in horror. Men were shouting, directing people to safety from the open areas of Helgen. Soldiers had their bows pointed skyward as they took aim to the black dragon that now wreaked havoc on their small city. Buildings were engulfed in flames and black smoke floated to the sky like wraiths of doom.

Athena looked to her left where she recognized the area where she would have been executed. She ran toward it and saw the Nord soldier coaxing a little boy away from the road along with the boy's father.

"Haming, you need to get over here." He shouted to the boy. Athena noticed another man crouching down beside a burnt building, alongside the road and she joined him. "Now!" The Nord soldier and Athena could both see the imminent danger, the dragon flapping its powerful wings, creeping closer with each beat.

The boy obediently went to the Nord, "That a boy. You're doing great." The dragon hovered ahead, flapping its wings inward as it prepared to land on the ground. The boy's father looked upward after seeing his son had returned to the soldier safely. The Nord covered the boy's head and ducked to cover with the crouching man beside the house.

"Gods!" The Nord shouted as they went to cover in the nick of time, "Everyone! Get back!" he ordered.

Flames burst down the road and all four watched as the dragon spewed fire and then soared back to the skies.

"Torolf!" the Nord cried as he watched the boy's father hit the ground, his skin blackened by the flames. The boy looked on in bewilderment at witnessing the death of his father. Athena couldn't bear to watch.

"PAPA!" he struggled, tears began to stream down his soft cheeks.

"You still alive?" The Nord addressed Athena, noticing her covering her face. Athena looked up from her hands at the Nord who now stood directly in front of her while the crouching man comforted the child.

"How do we get out of here?" She shouted over the clattering of steel and bellows of the dragon.

"Keep close to me if you want to stay alive!" The Nord ordered. "Gunnar," he addressed the crouching man, "take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and join the defense." He practically tossed Haming at Gunnar.

"Gods guide you, Hadvar." Gunnar said, taking the boy under his wing. Hadvar darted down the street and sulked behind a row of houses, Athena not far behind.

"To the wall!" Before Athena had time to react, Hadvar shoved his hand across her breast and jammed her against the wall. She choked as the blow knocked the wind from her lungs. "Look up." He whispered to Athena as the sun suddenly disappeared. Athena carefully turned her head to the right to see part of the dragon's giant wing hovering just above eye level. Its claw gripped the wall, allowing him to balance just above their heads.

"Why have the Gods forsaken us?" Hadvar whispered to himself. As if hearing Hadvar's question, the dragon flew off again, arrows flying in every direction to bring him down.

"Hurry! Follow me!" He took off once more, up the steps, weaving in and out of some houses before they emerged back on the street, close to the exit of the city close to Helgen's keep. The dragon protested above them as Athena followed Hadvar under a guard bridge and soon stopped.

Ralof appeared from behind some rubble and stopped too, seeing Hadvar and Athena together.

"We're escaping, Hadvar." He addressed Hadvar as if they were archenemies. "You're not stopping us this time." Ralof sounded as if they had been in this exact situation before.

"Fine," Hadvar shouted. "I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!" He cursed as if he had rehearsed that line a million times in his head, knowing he'd meet up with Ralof again.

"Come on, Athena! Follow me!" Ralof took to the right door of the keep.

"Into the keep!" Hadvar beckoned at the left door.

Athena looked to Ralof, a rebel, a prisoner of Skyrim and to Hadvar, a free man, an obviously highly appreciated individual of Skyrim. It didn't take long for her to decide as she entered the keep with Hadvar.

Inside the keep, the chaos that occurred outside was muffled and put an ease to Athena's head as she breathed big gulps of air trying to catch her breath. She looked around, studying her surroundings. There were cots with chests at the foot of each one, tables on the other side, and weapon racks mounted on the walls. Across the room was a gated way into the rest of the keep.

"Looks like we're the only ones that made it." Hadvar wiped his brow with the bottom of his palm.

"What about the others?" Athena looked back to the door they had entered from.

"They'll be fine once they help everyone out of the city." Hadvar approached Athena with a dagger. "Let me see if I can get those bindings off." Athena lifted his wrists to him as he placed the sharp edge of the blade underneath the leather and sliced upward, releasing her bondage.

"Thank you, Hadvar." She smiled with a bleeding lip. "Was that really a dragon?"

Hadvar nodded as if remembering something from years earlier. "The bringer of the End Times." He didn't allow Athena to respond as he stated, "We should keep moving. There should be plenty of gear to choose from here in the keep. I'm going to see if I can find something for these burns." He showed Athena his forearm, scabbed over with thin whelps of fire burns.

"Sorry, but I don't know any healing spells." Athena snickered nervously. "Or… at least I don't think I do."

"It's okay, I'm sure there's some potions here." Hadvar walked over and began checking the shelves and cupboards of the keep. Athena managed to find about ten gold pieces, a sword, a helmet, and Imperial armor. She placed the helmet over her brown hair, now dusted with soot and mud. She fastened the armor around her waist, which didn't fit her properly, as it was too lose and somewhat bulky over her petite physique. After strapping on the sword, she looked to Hadvar who shared a healing potion with her.

"Here. This should help with some of the cuts." There wasn't much left in the bottle, but Athena drank the last gulp and immediately felt the cuts and burns heal over. "All set?"

"Yes. Let's get out of here."

Hadvar pulled the chain that raised the gate and they continued through the keep. They crossed through to an opening where the doors that led to Helgen essentially joined; voices discussed important matters in frantic tones around the corner.

"You'll be alright, Elsie, I'm going to get you out of here." A man's voice whimpered.

"Stormcloaks," Hadvar whispered to Athena, stopping her with a hand signal. "Maybe we can reason with them." Hadvar rounded the corner which startled the rebels, catching them off guard.

"Imperials!" shouted the male rebel as he attempted to thrust his sword in Hadvar's gut. Hadvar, however, was quick and Athena marveled when he met the rebel's sword with his own.

"Down with the Empire!" Elsie cried and charged at Athena, who reacted on instinct. In seconds, Athena had unsheathed her sword and stabbed through the top of the Stormcloak's leather armor in the chest. The woman grabbed Athena's collar, trying to pull her down, but Athena grabbed the rebel's wrist and threw her to the ground. When Athena turned around, Hadvar was cleaning the shimmering blood from his sword, and when he had finished, he did something that alarmed Athena.

"I'll see you again in Sovngarde, brother." He knelt down and closed the eyes of the Stormcloak.

"I don't understand." Athena studied Hadvar. She could see the compassion that emitted from his presence, but his reasoning seemed to avoid her.

"What do you not understand?" He opened the gate on the other end of the open area.

"How do you manage so much compassion for the Stormcloaks?" Hadvar managed a smile at Athena, as if hiding a secret.

"Stormcloaks are still Nords, Athena. We both consider Skyrim home. Our similarities end at our opinions on what would be best for Skyrim's future. Some of the Stormcloaks believe Skyrim is only for the Nords and everyone else should stay out, others believe it's for those who call Skyrim home. Then there are those who truly believe that the Empire should be done away with."

"What do you believe, Hadvar?" Athena asked as they started to make their way down the steps of the keep. Hadvar pondered her question as if no one had ever asked his opinion on the matter before.

"I guess I believe that the Empire is essential to Skyrim. I believe Skyrim is for those who call her home and anyone who _wants_ to call her home. I don't believe that what the Thalmor or the Empire is doing is right, but if Tamriel united as a single force, we could overrule the Altmer." They turned to the right to enter a long hallway with doors on the left.

"What are the Tha-" Athena began when the dragon's voice came through, bellowing roars and screams, as he could be heard flying over the keep. A low rumble began and then a loud crash that caused Athena to lose her balance and fall to the floor. The ceiling of the keep had caved in, leaving only one way out: a door at the left.

"Damn, that dragon doesn't give up easy." Hadvar entered the hall behind Athena and assisted her up, grabbing her thumb and pulling her to her feet. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Athena brushed herself off. "Come on, I'm beginning to suffocate in this keep."

They opened the door to enter a supply room where two Stormcloaks were searching through the barrels.

"You aren't going to try to reason with them this time, are you?" Athena joked.

"What're you doing?!" The Stormcloak who wasn't rummaging through the barrels asked his comrade in a frantic whisper. He looked behind him and watched for intruders.

"The Imperials could have potions in here!" echoed the second Stormcloak with his head deep in the storage supply of the keep.

"HEY!" Hadvar shouted in a quick burst. The Stormcloaks threw their heads up like deer startled in a field.

"Imperials! Kill them!" One Stormcloak shouted, unsheathing his sword and charging straight for Athena. Athena matched his eagerness and withdrew her sword, ducking as the rebel sliced at her face horizontally. When he got close enough, she twirled behind him, grabbing him by the throat and stabbing her sword into his toned belly beneath the armor.

Hadvar backed into her view, dodging the rapid swipes of the rebel. Hadvar grabbed a chair at his right and tossed it at the rebel who caught it, but the force knocked him to the ground. Hadvar stood over him and dropped his sword almost perfectly into the man's chest. He lifted his blood stained weapon from the man's body.

"You're a good fighter." He looked up from his handiwork at Athena who was now rummaging through the barrels herself.

"Look! Healing potions!" She raised up three red bottles with light brown, sandy colored corks in the tops. Hadvar snickered to himself as she ignored his praise.

"We should keep moving." Hadvar and Athena exited the door on the opposite of the keep. Now on the other side of the rubble, they made their way down more stairs of the keep. Athena admired Hadvar's muscular back and toned legs. She wondered if she had a previous lover before she lost her memory.

Her wandering imagination paused as they neared another room of the keep.

"The torture room…" whispered Hadvar, finally sheathing his sword. "Gods, I wish we didn't need these." They made their way down the last flight of stairs where the torturer was at work, streaming a shock spell from his fingertips at a couple of Stormcloaks. Athena shielded her eyes from the blinding light, she took a step back into the darker area of the room near the steps. The torturer then noticed Hadvar and Athena and let the trail of lightning disappear.

"You fellows happened along just in time." The torturer sneered. "These boys," he motioned to the lifeless rebels, "seemed a bit upset about how I've been entertaining their comrades." Hadvar rolled his eyes, then nudged Athena to search around.

"You should look for supplies." He suggested in a low tone and then turned to the torturer. "Don't you even know what's going on?!" He walked past the torturer and looked for supplies with Athena.

"I don't believe I've been informed." The torturer adjusted his gloves, uninterested in Hadvar's warning.

"A dragon is attacking Helgen!" Hadvar stood near one of the torture cages. "We need to get out of here!" he warned, shouting now at the torturer.

"A dragon?" scoffed the torturer. "Don't make up nonsense." He sounded as if talking to a child. He then paused and placed a forefinger on his chin. "Although… come to think of it, I _did_ hear some odd noises come from over there." He mistakenly pointed to one of the cages where a dead mage lay among some gold pieces. Athena eyed the torturer as she rummaged through a knapsack that had been left on one of the tables in the chamber.

"What is in that cage?" Hadvar approached the cage the torturer had accidentally motioned towards, but the torturer stepped between Hadvar and the cell.

"Don't bother with that," he nervously laughed, "Lost the key ages ago. Poor fellow screamed for weeks."

Hadvar sighed and then returned to his initial point of the conversation. Athena grabbed up the coin pieces on the table and noticed a black book bearing the same insignia as General Tullius' breastplate. She opened the cover where the first page of browned parchment read in black ink with blocky letters: The Book of the Dragonborn. She shoved it into the knapsack she claimed for herself.

"Didn't you hear me?!" Hadvar's frustration grew. "I said the keep is under attack! We need to evacuate!"

"You have no authority over me, boy!" The torturer glared at Hadvar.

A man stepped out from the eastern corner of the room. He was the torturer's assistant, dressed in the same Imperial armor as his employer, wearing leather gloves and a leather hood.

"Forget the old man." His voice breaking an awkward pause. "I'll come with you." He offered. Athena, Hadvar, and the assistant made their way past the torturer and past the dungeon of the keep. They emerged in the cave-like secret passage that would eventually lead them out of the keep.

A bridge connected the southern area with the north, a waterfall created a small stream that ran from west to east, and inside were four to five Stormcloaks, patrolling, looking for a way out of the fort.

Two stood on the bridge, one waved his hands up in the air, "Where in Oblivion are we supposed to go?!" he stomped, turning and seeing Hadvar, Athena, and the assistant standing at the entrance.

"Just give me a minute." The other said, not realizing the danger lurking just behind his back.

"We don't have a minute! Imperials are near!" he unsheathed his sword, Athena withdrawing her own, and as he charged for the group, the torturer's assistant aimed a fireball at the Stormcloak.

"You two go ahead!" he ordered, stepping forward to sling another fireball. "I'll hold them off for as long as I can!" Athena looked at Hadvar.

"C'mon! He can handle them!" Hadvar waved Athena on and they crossed the bridge. On the other side of the keep, two Stormcloak archers had their bows ready to fire.

"Do you know any flame spells?" Hadvar asked, frantically dodging an arrow that zipped past his ear.

"Maybe." Athena summoned a deeper stored portion of energy, a source of power hidden deep in her veins. Her fingers tingled as she formed a flamed in the palm of her hand; it hovered, shining an electric blue as it danced in her hand. She breathed in and summoned more energy, forcing the flame to grow larger as it started to shine orange and yellow.

Ahead, oil had puddled across the walkway out of the keep. Above, a broken lantern dangled dangerously above the gas, still lit. Athena took aim, pointing her hand toward the ceiling, and then releasing the energy accumulated in her hand.

A fireball shot forth from her sweaty palm, making a beeline straight for the lantern, where it exploded on impact, forcing the lantern to crash to the floor. The Stormcloaks looked to the imminent danger and then at each other when the flame erupted into a fire; the heat forced Athena and Hadvar back as the Stormcloaks struggled to free their armor of the flames and then eventually succumbed to death.

After the flames had subsided, Hadvar and Athena crossed over where a bridge waited to be released. Hadvar pushed the level to the right that released the bridge, as it dropped, they crossed through the cloud of dust that formed. Behind them a rumbling started, and Athena turned to find the ceiling caving in, completely blocking the way back.

"Now what?" Athena looked to Hadvar who stared at the rubble before responding.

"Well… there's no going back, but I guess we're lucky that didn't come down on top of us." Hadvar looked at Athena finally.

"And the others?"

"I'm sure they'll find another way out. We'd better push on."

Athena nodded, after all, they could just go back the opposite way through the keep and escape Helgen that way. They passed through the cave where the stream passed through the rest of the keep. Athena followed behind Hadvar as they entered another open area, with slim columns made of clay.

"Hold up…" Hadvar held up a fist. "I don't like the looks of this."

"Let me go first." Athena protested.

"No, no. I'll see if it's safe. You should stay here." Hadvar crept forward, entering the cave. Athena then saw that every corner had spider webs plastered. The white threads clumped in some areas and oval shaped clumps of the webs that formed eggs. A couple of spiders revealed themselves from the shadows of the cavern, their eight eyes blinked in random patterns as they observed Hadvar and Athena from afar.

"Frostbite spiders!" Hadvar unsheathed his sword and charged forward and stabbed one in the face, it's pincers tried to clamp onto its prey. It melted to the ground, its legs sprawled out, trying to keep its body up; after the spider gave in to its fate, Hadvar waved Athena into the cave as he took on the next spider.

Athena started to charge, but abruptly stopped and looked towards the opening in the top of the cavern. Two larger frostbite spiders about the size of an Irish Wolfhound suspended themselves from the opening in the top of the cavern. When they were near the ground, they released their attachment to their thread and dropped down gracefully to the dirt.

"Hadvar!" Athena shouted, pointing her steel sword in the direction of the spiders. Hadvar spun around to find his enemies pursuing him with a vengeance for killing their offspring. One raised up its two front legs, appearing more intimidating than before, and then pursed its fangs as it hurled a dark aqua colored liquid at Hadvar who responded by slicing off the spider's front left leg.

Athena moved in, using her sword as an extension of her own arm, stretching out her weapon into the creature's eyes. The beast squealed, pawing with its remaining leg at its wound before crumpling up in the dirt. The other spider, having witnessed the murder of its mate, responded by scurrying after Hadvar's legs. Athena moved in and tackled Hadvar, moving him out the of way just before the spider could snatch him with its fuzzy legs.

"Thanks." He smiled and then rose to his feet, conquering the monster. "What next? Giant snakes?" he chuckled. Athena gulped as she prayed to the unknown gods that there were no such thing as giant snakes.

"I hope not…" Athena awkwardly smiled.

They entered the next area, crossing over a naturally created bridge from erosion that crossed over the stream that ran through the cavern. They turned east when Hadvar grabbed Athena's arm.

"Hold up." He whispered as he crouched to the ground. "See that bear over there?" Athena looked ahead, seeing a round figure pulsating peacefully in a spotlight. Athena nodded, joining Hadvar in the crouching position.

"I'd rather not tangle with her." Hadvar handed Athena a long bow. "You good with archery?" Athena shrugged; she was obviously good with a sword, even with no memory of fighting, so she took the bow and some arrows from Hadvar.

She crept forward a couple of steps, where she had a clear shot, then placed the soft feather of the arrow in between her fingers. She grabbed the nock of the arrow, placing it against the bow, as she pulled back, she aimed right behind the bear's shoulder, then pulled back the bow string and let the arrow fly.

The bear wailed in pain as it woke from its sleep; she rose with her wide paws, wobbling a bit as she tried to balance with her wounded shoulder. She caught whiff of Athena and Hadvar, thundering with her deep voice as she came barreling toward them. Athena readied another arrow and shot it directly into the bear's chest; the beast fell forward and slid to Athena's feet. After she retrieved her arrows, Athena looked to Hadvar who stood before her with a grin on his face.

"You're…" he shook his head, his grin still plastered on his face, "amazing." Athena smirked with the side of her mouth and handed the bow and arrows back to Hadvar.

"No." he put his hands up, pushing the equipment back to Athena, "Keep them; you'll get more use out of them than I will. Besides, you're obviously a much better archer than I could ever hope to be."

Athena laughed at Hadvar's whimsical way of insulting himself.

"Is that so?" they started to make their way out of the cavern.

"I'm a terrible shot. My uncle used to try and teach me, but I never could pick up on it. I'm much better with a sword or an axe."

They rounded the corner of the cavern and found the exit of the keep; snow had already spilled into the tunnel and the sun shone brightly through the hole.

"This looks like the way out!" an excited Hadvar began sprinting. "I was starting to wonder if we'd ever make it!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Bleak Falls Barrow

After having finally escaped the keep, Athena squinted as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. It was almost evening by the time they had finally found their way. Evergreens crowded the path and across from the hill they stood on, Athena gazed at a mountain across the river. The snow left speckles of black material that dotted its surface, leaving it appearing like an enormous disease ridden rock. Skyrim's marvelous beauty captured Athena's attention with a grip that wouldn't let go; even as the snowy air formed goose bumps on her arms from the cold, she couldn't break her stare from Skyrim's captivating landscape.

"Wait!" Hadvar broke Athena's concentration, dragging her down behind a nearby rock. Above, the dragon soared, he flapped his wings a couple of times, screeching as he vanished behind the mountain Athena had admired. "Looks like he's gone for good this time, but I don't think we should stick around to see if he comes back." Hadvar rose and helped Athena to her feet.

They both started their journey down the side of the hill, following a faded dirt path. Athena was exhausted from the adrenaline rush she had received from the dragon attack and the main object of her mind was sleep. Her mind imagined a tankard, filled with snow and mead and some apple cabbage soup with a slice of toasted bread. Her stomach growled with eagerness at the thought of a well-cooked meal.

Hadvar looked back at the sound, appearing a bit startled which had Athena laughing.

"Don't worry." She shook her head, "It's just my stomach—not a dragon." Hadvar grinned as they finally caught up to the cobblestone that paved the main roads of Skyrim.

"Listen, you should go to Solitude and join up with the Legion. After seeing you use a sword and bow, I've no doubt you'll be enlisted without a second thought. We could really use someone like you, Athena."

The army? Athena didn't know what to think about getting herself tangled in Skyrim's political issues, but she would need money and the legion would be a great place to start working on her archery and swordsman skills.

"I'll consider it… but for now, I need some sleep…" her stomach growled once more, "and some food."

"The closest town is Riverwood." Hadvar slowed his pace to a jog, allowing Athena to keep up better, "My uncle is a blacksmith there. I'm sure he'd help you out."

"Thanks, Hadvar. That means a lot to me considering I have no memory of friends or family." They were nearing the first bend of the road that led northwest.

"Don't thank me." Hadvar said in all seriousness, "Without you today, I'd be dragon food."

"Hey, I wouldn't have made it out without you either. We made a great team back there." They smiled at each other. Hadvar stopped on a slope in the hill and pointed up to the mountain at a structure jutting forth from the mount.

"See that ruin up there?' Hadvar looked at Athena who stood on her toes to see the structure with horizontal beams that ran over the entryway. "Bleak Falls Barrow." Hadvar named, "When I was a boy, that place always used to give me nightmares. Draugr creeping down the mountain to climb through my window, that kind of thing." Hadvar and Athena continued downhill. "I admit, I still don't much like the look of it."

Athena admired Hadvar's willingness to admit his weaknesses, but she knew she was too proud to admit she was frightened over some undead that lurked miles away in a mountain. Before they rounded the corner of the road, they arrived at a raised platform with three stones as tall as a man. The tops had circles in them and at the base of the stones, they each featured constellations: the one at the far left featured a thief, his dagger at his side, a cloak covering his head, the middle one a mage, who held a staff at his right and a robe covering his feet, and the last one at the right, a warrior with a horned helmet, a shield covering his body, and a war axe.

"These are the Guardian Stones," Hadvar explained, "three of the thirteen ancient standing stones that dot Skyrim's landscape." Hadvar gave Athena a nudge in their direction. "Go ahead and see for yourself."

Athena approached the stones with cautious footsteps as if they would explode if she ventured too close.

"What do they do?" Athena looked back at Hadvar who remembered she had no memory.

"They mark your birth. Everyone is born under a sign—a star—that paves the way for their life and grants them special abilities."

"What sign were you born under, Hadvar?" Athena asked as she studied the markings on the stones.

"Well, an extension of the Warrior sign: the Lord. I was born in First Seed."

"How do I know when I was born?" Athena looked back to Hadvar.

"Touch one of the stones. You can always guide your own fate, Athena. You don't have to let your birth date guide your path in life. I know the gods will set you on the right path anyways in the end."

Athena looked to the stones, a strong sense of connection forced her to gravitate to the Warrior stone. She reached out with a trembling hand and placed her dirt covered palm on the constellation. The stars began to glow and soon the entire constellation beamed white. In the circle at the top of the stone, a powerful orb formed and then a beam shot from the stone up to the heavens. Athena watched the light disappear beyond the clouds and then looked back to Hadvar who nodded in approval at her choice.

"Warrior is a good choice." He waved Athena back to the road. Athena after taking one last look at the stone, followed Hadvar down the road.

"Wait," Athena begged Hadvar, throwing a hand ahead of herself to catch his attention, "please, can we not run? I'm fatigued and tired."

"Of course!" Hadvar obliged and instead walked. "Listen, as far as I'm concerned," Hadvar looked at Athena, studying her war painted face, "you've already earned your pardon." Athena started to protest that she wasn't supposed to be on the carriage, but stopped, realizing she didn't have a solid alibi to prove she wasn't a Stormcloak.

"But until we get that confirmed by General Tullius, just stay clear of other Imperial soldiers and avoid any complications, all right?"

Athena nodded gratefully at Hadvar, a burden lifted from her wandering head, that now she was a free woman; she could join the legion with Hadvar's recommendation set up for herself.

"Also," Hadvar continued, "I'm glad you decided to come with me." Ahead on the road, after it had neared the evening, Hadvar pointed to an overhead bridge above an entrance to a city. There were no gates, just an open archway that led to a few houses and shops. "We're almost to Riverwood." Hadvar's words relieved Athena, after they had been walking for almost two hours.

They entered a lumber village that had been set up next to the White River. The village seemed a bit rustic and unstable as far as the architecture was concerned, but there were quite a few villagers. A lumber mill was operated to the west of the village and a blacksmith across the river from the mill, and across the street from the blacksmith, a merchant shop was opened called the Riverwood Trader. Behind the Riverwood Trader, a couple of houses, one with chickens and cattle were built to house a couple of the village's families.

"Not a big town." Athena observed as a chicken clucked across the path.

"No, but it's quiet enough." Hadvar looked up like a hound dog spotting a rabbit, "Come on." He waved, "There's my uncle." Athena followed Hadvar down the street of the quaint town when an elderly woman, dressed in a burlap dress suddenly exclaimed, "A dragon!" to her son, a blond man, shaved and well kept, wearing a brown vest over a Stormcloak-blue tunic.

"What is it now, Mother?" he addressed with annoyance.

"I saw a dragon!" she animated with her hands. "It was as big as the mountain, and black as night." She pointed to Bleak Falls Barrow, "It flew right over the barrow!"

"Dragons, now, is it?" the man grabbed his mother's outstretched arm, placed it at her side, and then grabbed her shoulders, "If you keep on like this, everyone in town will think you're crazy." He picked up a lute leaning against the wall of the house they were perched at, "And I've got better things to do than listen to any more of your fantasies!" he started to walk towards the Sleeping Giant Inn at the other edge of town.

"You'll see!" his mother echoed back to him. "It was a dragon! It'll kill us all and then you'll believe me!"

Athena desperately wanted to defend the woman, but in fear of causing pandemonium in Riverwood, she kept following Hadvar until they had reached the porch of the blacksmith.

"Uncle Alvor!" Hadvar called happily, "Hello!" he took a step onto the porch. The blacksmith turned to reveal a man with an apron as black as the Helgen dragon and a burgundy colored shirt. His hands were covered in a black film from working at the forge and his face was darkened by the smoke at the open furnace. He was brown haired and bearded, his arms seemed as though they'd tear through the fabric of his shirt, and his belly made his apron concave around his frame.

"Hadvar?" his voice was mid-toned as he wiped his hands on his apron, approaching the edge of the porch. "What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise before starting his next question, "Are you off leave from…" as he neared Hadvar, he saw the cuts and dirt that painted Hadvar's face. "Shor's bones, what happened to you, boy?!"

"Shh…" Hadvar looked around for eavesdroppers, "Keep your voice down. I am fine," He soothed his uncle's concern, "but we should go inside to talk." Alvor's tone was unchanged by Hadvar's suggestion.

"What's going on?" he demanded and then turned his attention to Athena. "And who is this?"

"She's a friend. Saved my life, in fact. Come on, I'll explain everything," Hadvar grabbed his uncle by the back and lured him into the house, "but we need to go inside."

"Okay, okay," Alvor took the lead ahead of Hadvar and Athena. "Come inside, then. Sigrid will get you something to eat and you can tell me all about it."

Athena's stomach grumbled satisfied at the mention of food; her mouth watered thinking about a crisp ale and a hot bowl of soup and toasted bread. They stepped inside the lodge, where they were greeted by a bed and chest and to the left, a table set for six, just in front of a cozy fireplace where stew was bubbling in a pot. Past the table, at the far left end of the house, stairs led down to the basement, beneath the house's creaking wooden planks. To the right of the room, a single bed and wardrobe were placed against the right wall.

"Sigrid! We have company!" Alvor called as he took his place at the table, sitting in the seat nearest the door. A light brown headed girl in a gray-brown dress with a similar burgundy long-sleeved shirt as her father, came bouncing up the steps of the house; upon seeing her cousin, Hadvar, she excitedly embraced his waist, as far as she could reach from her height.

"Cousin Hadvar!" she cheered.

"Hello, Dorthe." Hadvar grinned, lifting her off the ground and taking a seat at the head of the table, near the stairs. "My, you've grown since I've left for Solitude!"

A woman, Sigrid, entered the room after Dorthe, and her eyes widened at the sight of her nephew. Hadvar placed Dorthe on the ground who took her place at the edge of the full sized bed in front of the door. Sigrid, dressed in a salmon colored dressed with a faded white tunic underneath, threw her hands around Hadvar, who was at least two feet taller than she.

"Hadvar! We've been so worried about you! Come, you two must be hungry!" She looked to Athena and nodded, pulling out a seat for Athena, who nodded thankfully and took her place at the table, "Sit down and I'll get you something to eat." Hadvar took his place again at the head of the table. Sigrid made her way to the cauldron and began mixing in herbs and spices in the stew she had boiling over the fireplace. Athena couldn't help but eye the freshly toasted bread loaves in a basket set at the center of the table.

"Now then, boy." Alvor began, seeing everyone had settled into their chairs. "What's the big mystery? What are you doing here, looking like you lost an argument with a cave bear?"

"I don't know where to start…" Hadvar admitted, pinching off a corner of the toast and stuffing it in his mouth, "You know I was assigned to General Tullius' watch. We were stopped in Helgen, when were attacked…" He swallowed the bread, and then looked at Sigrid, who was also listening intently, and then back to Alvor, "by a dragon!"

"A dragon?!" Alvor looked to his wife who stared at Hadvar with much disbelief. "That's ridiculous." Alvor argued, "You aren't drunk, are you, boy?"

"Husband, let him tell his story." Sigrid protested, offended at Alvor for accusing Hadvar of being intoxicated.

"Not much more to tell. This dragon flew over and wrecked all of Helgen. It was mass confusion with the prisoners being transported there. I don't know if anyone else got out alive. I'll have to return to Solitude in the morn to rendezvous with General Tullius and any other survivors." He then looked to Athena. "I doubt I'd made it out if not for my friend here."

Sigrid placed some venison stew with chopped vegetables and more freshly toasted bread on the table.

"Can I get you anything to drink…uhh…" she searched for Athena's address.

"Athena." Athena smiled graciously, "Do you have any ale?"

"Of course. Now, eat up, from the sound of it, you two must have worked up an appetite." Sigrid then left to fetch tankards and ale. Alvor turned to his nephew, munching on a loaf of toast. Athena immediately grabbed up a venison chop and a loaf of toast and began to chomp ravenously on the meat and bread.

"What is this talk of prisoners?" Alvor recalled from Hadvar's description of his adventure.

"Stormcloaks. We captured them crossing the border into Skyrim along with Ulfric Stormcloak."

"Ulfric Stormcloak?! The leader of the rebellion?!" Alvor exclaimed. "What happened to him, Hadvar? Did he escape?"

"Yes, no thanks to the dragon." Hadvar's face washed over with the realization of something, but he didn't say what, he didn't mention anything else to Alvor as he munched on his toast. Sigrid returned with two tankards in her right hand and two bottles of mead in her left. She yanked out the corks and poured the bottles into the flagons and then set one in front of Athena and the other in front of Hadvar.

"Here you are." Sigrid eagerly said. "Now is there something else I could help you with, Athena?" Athena opened to speak, but Hadvar interrupted.

"Actually, yes. I thought you could help us out with supplies and place to stay. I'll be heading back out to Solitude, like I said, to tell them what happened in Helgen."

Alvor rose from his seat and opened the chest in front of the full sized bed.

"Any friend of Hadvar's is a friend of ours. We're glad to help however we can." Alvor granted permission for Athena to take whatever supplies she could manage out of the chest. Dorthe suddenly riled by Hadvar's tale of the dragon attack on Helgen.

"Hadvar, did you really see a dragon?! What did it look like? Did it have big teeth? What color was it?" Alvor ignored his daughter as Hadvar took an interest in answering Dorthe's petty questions.

"All this talk about dragons has got me worried." Alvor looked to Athena with concern. "I need you to do something for me, in return for lending you supplies."

"Anything. I'm happy to help and thank you very much for allowing me to borrow some supplies. I really do appreciate it." Athena felt a yawn growing in the back of her throat, but swallowed the air. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"The Jarl of the Whiterun hold, Jarl Balgruuf, needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose. Riverwood, being as small as it is, is defenseless. I need you to travel to Whiterun and ask him to send whatever soldiers he can; if you do that for me, I'll be in your debt."

"Of course I'll go to Whiterun, and consider your debt paid by lending me supplies." Athena bargained with a smile. After finishing her mead and sipping on some hot soup, she moved to the chest near the bed.

"Where is Whiterun?" Athena asked, grabbing up some healing elixirs, stamina potions, a few gold pieces, and other useful items from the box.

"Ah, it's just north of here. Follow the river and you'll see Dragonsreach from the road."

"Is it okay if I stay here for the night? I fear if I try to travel tonight, I'll pass out from exhaustion on the road."

"Well of course!" Sigrid interrupted. "Take all the time you need to build up your strength."

"Thank you so much." Athena rose after putting the supplies in her knapsack. She approached Hadvar, blushing a little, as she grabbed his hand. "And thank you, Hadvar. I owe you and I plan to see you in Solitude. I do, honestly." Athena stood on her toes and kissed Hadvar's cheek delicately. He smirked with confidence that a young lady would dare kiss him at all.

"I'm going to leave in the morning." She informed him, placing her knapsack next to the second single bed in the house. "I don't know how early, but one of us will definitely be gone before the other, so I wanted to say that I'll see you again."

"Yes, I'll have get an early start on the road if I want to reach Solitude in a day's time." Hadvar sat on the left single bed, kicking his boots off and shoving them under the bed. Athena followed his lead and then excused herself to the basement where she changed into the nightgown Alvor and Sigrid had lent her. She then returned upstairs, pulling the wolf pelt blanket to her chin after she adjusted her feather pillow.

"Good night, Athena." Hadvar said blowing out the candle on the nightstand.

"Good night, Hadvar."

Athena woke early in the morning; she rolled over in her hay mattress to find Hadvar's bed made, but no Hadvar present. She knew he would leave before her, for his duties in the Legion called him. She rose and stretched, examined the full bed where Alvor and Sigrid were embracing in a slumber. Athena quietly slipped back into her armor and fastened her boots, and after she grabbed up her knapsack, having stuffed it with bread, cheese, apples, and mead, she tip-toed out into the muggy Riverwood with an overhanging fog.

She crossed the street to the Riverwood Trader where they had just opened shop. She had a couple of weapons she had looted off the Stormcloaks that she planned to sell for some coin. When she entered, the shopkeeper was in the middle of an argument with a lady.

"Well one of us has to do something!" she ordered, throwing her hands in the air.

"I said 'no'! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!" he finalized by wiping down the counter with a rag.

"Well, what are you going to do then, huh? Let's hear it!" she continued, obviously not finished making her point to the man.

"We are done talking about this." He looked at the woman without raising his head, when he did a double-take at Athena. "Oh, a customer." The woman turned to see Athena as well. "Sorry you had to hear that." He apologized with intense sincerity. After the woman who apologized with a nod took her place at a table across from the counter, Athena approached the man who stuffed the cleaning rag into one of the hidden shelves of the check-out.

"I don't know what you overheard," the man looked at Athena as he placed his palms on the countertop, glancing back and forth between Athena's blushed cheeks and the now glossy wood. "but the Riverwood Trader is still open. Feel free to shop." He motioned with his hand to the shelves behind him, stocked with potions, ingredients, and food.

Athena ignored his inventory and walked closer to the counter, "Did something happen?"

"Yes, we did have a uh, bit of a," his voice lowered, "break-in." "Break-in" was almost inaudible to Athena. "But we still have plenty to sell! Robbers were only after one thing: an ornament, solid gold, in the shape of a dragon's claw. Very precious to me."

"I could help you get the claw back." Athena smiled. The man finally looked directly into her eyes, a glimmer of optimism shined in his dark green eyes.

"You could?! I've got some coin coming in from my latest shipment. If you bring my claw back, the coin is yours."

Athena didn't care how much his shipment was worth, but she did need gold—of any amount.

"Do you know where these thieves were headed?" She asked the man.

The man pondered the question, choosing the best way to word his next statement carefully.

"Um, well, I assumed they were headed to Bleak Falls Barrow. It would be the closest place to hole up for a group of thugs."

His sister interjected at this point.

"So this is your plan?! To get some stranger to risk their life?" She scowled at her brother.

"Yes, so now you don't have to go, do you?" he wobbled his head left and right, emphasizing his point of keeping his sister safe. His words were majority unheard by his sister, who huffed, crossing her arms and turning away from him in her seat. She then turned to Athena and as if an idea had hatched, she smirked at her brother.

"Oh really?" she darted at him, "Well, I think your new helper here needs a guide." She rose from her seat and grabbed Athena's arm and started to drag her to the door.

"Wh-?! No… I… oh, by the Eight, fine, but _only_ to the edge of town." He shouted to her as she stepped out the door, dragging Athena behind her.

She chuckled a sense of victory over her brother's control. She released Athena from her grip, who brushed herself off.

"So, how do I get to this ruin?" Athena looked at the woman, searching for her name.

"The way to Bleak Falls Barrow is over the bridge, out of town. My name is Camilla, by the way. The man running the Riverwood Trader is my brother, Lucan."

"He seems… nice." Athena struggled with an awkward grin.

Camilla glanced at Athena and smiled, then looked down to the road.

"He is." She admitted shyly. "Sometimes he acts more like a father than a brother though. I think it's due to the horse accident I had when I was a child. Ever since then, he's been very protective of me, and even more so after our parents died."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Athena sympathized. Even after a good night's sleep and a hot supper, Athena couldn't recall any memories of her parents or any siblings. Her memory of her former life was wiped clean from her memory. There was a long silence between the two, when Camilla then looked at Athena once more.

"My brother… he wouldn't explain where he got that claw. That was part of our argument. Some of the things he does, he does in secret, as if they're a crime." They were nearing the edge of town, just passing the Sleeping Giant Inn. "I couldn't say if he's certain Bleak Falls Barrow is where the thieves were headed. They could have been heading to Solitude for all he knows."

"We'll find out then, won't we?" Camilla stopped at the bridge that led across the White River. She turned to face Athena, who was adjusting her sword.

"Now, just follow the path that leads northwest," she pointed to the branch in the road; a dirt path leading up the mountain. "It will take you to Bleak Falls Barrow."

"My name is Athena, by the way." Athena stated in the same fashion Camilla addressed herself.

"Well, Athena, good luck and be careful. Who knows what lurks in that ancient ruin."

Athena nodded and then crossed the bridge, following the path that branched from the main road and took a steep uphill climb on the side of the cliff. The path was worn, as if traveled several times before, and trees lined the outer edges of the path. The early morning sun warmed Athena's skin, even in the frigid chill of Skyrim.

All of Skyrim was cold, even the furthest southern city, Riften, had a wind-chill that felt like late autumn. It snowed in almost every city each year, though the snowfall varied in quantity in different parts of Skyrim. Athena, being a Nord, had an ability to resist cold, and cold spells; a trait inherited in all Nords. Even the horses of Skyrim were hearty and had much thicker coats to endure the winters they faced.

Athena had reached the end of the path where snow had suddenly drifted onto the dirt. She was in the mountain now and she gazed out to her left, where she could see Riverwood; its lumber mill bustling with workers and children playing with a dog near the inn. The people were specs to Athena, being so far away and at such great of a height. Athena shivered in the breeze that came whistling between the mountain. Ahead, Athena spotted a couple of bandits near a watchtower which appeared to have been abandoned for some time.

One bandit, closer to Athena, stood guard near the partial wall of rock and snow. Another one, further away, nearer the watchtower, stood with his back against a fairly large pine, the branches waving greetings to travelers and the sky.

Athena crouched down, scurrying to safety behind a nearby tree. She gradually unsheathed her sword, being certain the chime wouldn't alarm any of the bandits, and then, with her back to the tree, she leaned out to be certain of their locations.

The first bandit, though of a taller height, looked thinned, almost starved. Athena rationalized her chances of taking him down quickly without being noticed by the second bandit, but the open pathway disrupted her strategy. She would need a quick, perfect shot to the neck if she didn't want to direct the second bandit's attention in her direction.

She reached for her bow strapped to her back and sheathed her sword once more. With the feather of the arrow between her fingers, she pressed her arm as tightly to the tree as she could manage, looking down the body of the arrow. Just as the bandit looked her way, right at the arrowhead now aiming directly at him—he began to shout, to sound the alarm to his gang members. As soon as his mouth opened, Athena released, a straight shot into the neck; his body slid down the rock, as if he were just taking a rest from standing for a while.

Athena crouched low to the snowy path, darting to the opposite side, where she hid herself behind the bandit's corpse. She took another arrow out of her quiver, and aimed for the second bandit, this time at his chest. When she released, she made another direct hit and the bandit fell forward, dead.

Athena passed by, following the snowy path that led to the right and in between the mountain's peaks. As she rounded a corner to the left, Bleak Falls Barrow greeted her with a grim foggy overcast. Pillars in arched over the wide steps that led to the entrance of the barrow. The structure's mass and size astonished Athena; it seemed so much larger than when she had first viewed it on the path from Helgen. At the top of each arch, eagle head shaped structures guarded the barrow, blanketed in snow and ice. At the top of the first flight of stone steps, Athena could vaguely make out the shape of a bandit.

She approached the barrow, but since the path was open and there weren't many landscape structures, she had no place to hide. The bandit, from his location, spotted Athena far below and cautiously made his way down the steps. Athena held her breath, praying to the gods, he wouldn't see her.

It was too late though, the bandit raised his bow and Athena reacted, countering his gesture by raising her arm, protecting her head with her bracers. The arrow was a far miss though and thumped into the ground about a food right of Athena.

_The wind… the wind is throwing off the arrows_. Athena observed as she raised her own bow and approached the enemy. As she approached closer, she realized the bandits at the barrow were wearing different armor from the ones stationed at the watchtower. They were clothed in furs that draped over their shoulders and their boots lined with white furs that clumped in tufts at the seams.

When she was less than 100 yards away from the bandit, she let her arrow go, hitting him in the knee.

"AGH!" he grunted loudly in agony as he knelt into the snow. His cry of pain alerted his comrades who came to his aid down the stone steps. Athena fired again into the bandit's shoulder as arrows started raining towards her head. She ducked and rolled out of the way behind a broken pillar nearer the steps.

"We'll find you! You can't hide forever!" One bandit woman shouted as she crept up to the pillar. When she quickly spun to the opposite side, Athena was nowhere to be found.

"There!" the second male bandit shouted as he stood by his dead comrade. "Up on the pillar!"

Athena had scurried to the top and as the bandit woman gazed up into the falling snow, an arrow shot through her chest and she fell backwards.

"No! Isa!" the man shouted and rushed to her side. Athena slid down the pillar and raised her bow at the man. He shot a glare in her direction.

"I'll kill you!" He grabbed the woman's sword from the ground and pushed himself at Athena with his left boot. Athena fired her arrow into the man's stomach; he grunted, spat blood onto the white snow, and then fell face first into the mess he'd made.

Athena stepped over the bodies now overlapped and made her way up the steps. The door to the barrow was decorated with intricate carvings that swirled at the top and the bottom of the door. The carvings in the center looked more like dragons than just designs and there in the very center, a large bronze ring hung, coated in ice. Athena grabbed the ring in her sweaty hands and pulled as hard as she could to open the massive door.

Inside, the air swooshed outside and then the door shut with an echoing thud. Across the main entranceway, Athena spotted a fireplace had been set up and she could see the shadows of two bandits talking, hovered over their fire. In the center of the room, Athena rushed to a large pillar and then peered out. With her bow, she shot down the both of them, looted the gold out of their pockets, and then made her way down the ramp to the next room where she found a dead bandit, his body full of needles.

Athena observed her surroundings; to the right of the room, a staircase led up to a balcony, and to the left, three stones featuring a fish, an eagle, and a snake cowered in their holes in the wall. Above the balcony, Athena spotted two stones, these were carved almost at the ceiling, and in between them, the second stone had fallen to the floor picturing a snake. The first stone featured a snake as well and the third, a fish.

_A puzzle!_ Athena went to the stones on the first floor and turned them to match the stones above the balcony and then pulled the lever beneath the bandit's corpse. The gate blocking the path flung upwards and Athena made her way down the spiral staircase of the ruin that led downward past an ancient table.

A voice echoed down the hall, "Is… is someone coming?" it spoke to itself. As Athena trekked forward, making a left underneath an archway, the voice continued frantically, "Is that you Harknir? Soling?!"

Athena chopped into a thick spider web, matted and intentionally made by some spider, she found herself in an open area. Light shone through an opening to Skyrim leading out through the ceiling. There were corpses wrapped in spider webs and spider sacs nested into the thick spider webs that lined the walls. Athena only got a glimpse of a man trapped in a spider web at the left of the room when he shouted, "Look out!"

From the opening in the ceiling, a huge spider, the size of a weanling colt, came dangling down into the room. It hissed with venom dripping from its fuzzy fangs. Athena backed into the hall once more where the spider came scurrying up; it tried with all its might to squeeze into the archway, but it was simply too big. This was Athena's advantage: she pulled back to arrows and shot them into the spider's face, but it clawed them out with its scaly legs with ease. The spider retaliated by spitting venom at Athena's face.

She fell to the floor, scraping the sticky poison from her face, keeping her eyes shut so as not to get the venom in her eyes. She stood to her feet, her vision slightly blurry and retrieved two more arrows.

"Get it! Get it!" the man yelled, which attracted the spider's attention. It stopped its clawing into the archway and scurried over to the man.

_I'll never keep it here long enough if that man keeps shouting_. Athena leaned into the room, two arrows ready, and when the spider reared up to spit poison at the man, Athena released her arrows. They stuck in the spider's abdomen, one stuck in its spinneret. The enormous spider whipped around in pain, hissing indefinitely as it attempted to retrieve the arrows.

"Help!" the man shouted. "Kill it!"

"Shut up!" Athena commanded as she fired another arrow into the spider's face. It squirmed in pain, scrambling wildly about the room until it finally gave in and with its legs sprawled across the floor, it died. Athena breathed out, not realizing she had been holding her breath. She reached in her bag and pulled out one of the healing potions she had found in Helgen's keep. She took a couple of gulps, an herby fishy taste slivered down her throat. It was bitter and made her nose curl, but after it healed her scrapes and the burning the venom had caused on her face, she didn't mind the terrible taste.

She put the cork back on the bottle and shoved it back into her knapsack and then approached the man.

"You did it!" the Dunmer, decked out in hide armor congratulated Athena. "You killed the spider. Now cut me down before anything else shows up."

Athena scoffed at the bandit's demand and then swiftly placed her sword at his throat. He squirmed in his spider web cocoon when he saw the seriousness in Athena's expression.

"Now, you and I both know, I didn't come all this way, kill all these men and women, and this giant spider," she motioned to the dead monster behind her, "just to cut you down. Who are you and where is the golden claw?"

"I-I'm Arvel the Swift."

"Yet not swift enough to escape a sluggish spider." Athena mocked.

"You may not have come up here to kill all these people and things, but I didn't get caught to be made a fool of. I have the claw. I know how it works too; the claw, the markings, the door in the Hall of Stories. I know how they all fit together!"

"Hall of Stories?" Athena was gradually pulling the sword from Arvel's throat.

"You are a Nord, aren't you? Yet _you_ don't know anything about the Hall of Stories? Let a spider catch me any day than be as clueless as you, little Nord girl."

"Show me this 'Hall of Stories.'" Athena demanded.

"Does it look like I can move? You have to cut me down first."

Athena hesitated; a bandit could never be trusted, especially not a thieving bandit. She had no choice, she wasn't getting back to the Riverwood Trader without that claw and Arvel was the only way she was getting there. She took her sword and sliced the right side of the web.

"It's coming loose! I can feel it!" Arvel exclaimed excitedly.

Athena chopped the left side and Arvel fell to the floor with a thud and grunt. He lifted himself from the floor and laughed at Athena.

"You fool, why should I share the treasure with you?!" He started to run, but Athena caught his collar.

"You're not going anywhere, cur!" Athena yanked him back into the room. "You're going to tell me about the Hall of Stories!"

Arvel pulled a dagger from his pocket.

"Never. You'll have to kill me. I'll never let you get that treasure."

Athena readied herself with her sword in her hands. She took her stance and glared at Arvel. When Arvel came at Athena, she dodged and as he turned to strike, his chest met her sword and she shoved it almost through his back. She pulled it back and let his body fall to the floor.

She searched his pockets and found a small, leather bound journal and beneath his hide cuirass, she found the golden claw. She opened the blood stained journal to the first page which read:

_"My fingers are trembling. The Golden Claw is finally in my hands and with it, the power of the ancient Nordic heroes. That fool Lucan Valerius had no idea that his favorite store decoration was actually the key to Bleak Falls Barrow._

_Now I just need to get to the Hall of Stories and unlock the door. The legend says there is a test that the Nords put in place to keep the unworthy away, but that 'When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands.'"_

Athena looked to the golden claw. Just as Lucan as described, it was solid gold and shined brightly underneath the light in the ceiling. On the underside of the claw, three circles encased three animals: the first one a bear, the second a moth, and the third an owl.

Athena still didn't understand how the claw could be a key, but the only way to find out would be to get to the Hall of Stories. The next room was cluttered with burial urns and ceramic urns as tall as Athena. She passed through and found herself in a crypt. The ceilings were tall and there was a central pillar at the right of the room. Along the walls, from the ceiling to the floor, beds had been dug in, much like shelves, and in each one were the remains of Nords. Some were wrapped, others were already skeletons, and then there were some that terrified Athena: they were fleshy, unwrapped draugr. Their arms were folded over their wrinkled chests with nothing more than a couple of pieces of fabric covering their privates. The pungent odor horrified Athena as she buried her face in her arm—the smell of several rotting bodies at least an era old overcame her.

Athena shuddered with fright and crept down the slope to the open area of the room. When she entered the lit area, she heard a growl that echoed to the entrance. In front of her, a scrawny leg slid off its resting place and a draugr woke. Athena gasped as she took a step backward. The draugr wearing armor that resembled ribs and carrying a Nordic sword, a jagged sword, black with age, pulled himself up out of his wall coffin. He huffed as he looked Athena over, his fluorescent blue eyes stared at her, burrowing a hole into her very being.

"I'm sorry I woke you…" she pleaded. "If this is a bad time… maybe I could come back later?" she laughed nervously. The draugr growled and then banged his sword on the shield in his opposite hand. The sound of the clattering steel echoed through the crypt and suddenly three more draugr surrounded Athena.

"Alright then, we'll do this the hard way."

Ahead of Athena, she noticed a pressure plate that activated a spiked gate.

_If I can lure them over there, I won't have to waste my energy on them._

Athena retrieved her own sword and swung it in her hand, a full circle, before she sliced at the first draugr which knocked him down. She leaped over his body when another draugr tried to cut at her and then spun around on the opposite side of the pressure plate.

"Let's go!" She shouted. "I've been through hell and back today and I just want some rest!"

The draugr seemed to be communicating with each other, grunting in a language Athena didn't understand. The second draugr, obviously female, came limping at her, as her foot pressed on the plate, the gate swung in front of Athena and tossed the draugr like a rag across the crypt.

"Anyone else want to try the Spiked Gate of Fun?" Athena challenged with a cocky grin.

The first draugr now stood with the other two and then stepped up to the challenge. His foot barely missed the pressure plate and as he struck his sword at Athena, she blocked it with her own. A second draugr went to his aid, but he was careless and his foot landed the plate. Athena leaped to the right, pressing her body against the wall as the gate swung and hit both draugr, sending them flying across the room. Athena straightened up and faced her last enemy. The final draugr, having witnessed the mistake of his comrades, now stepped forward and placed a foot over the pressure plate. Athena snickered at his newly found wisdom and shoved her sword at him; he countered with his shield and Athena took a step backward.

She crouched and thrusted at him once more, but once again his shield blocked her attack. Once more she thrusted and when he brought up his shield, she knocked him backwards with her body. He landed right on the pressure plate and Athena dove for safety over his body. The gate swept him into the pillar in the center of the room and Athena heard a crackling sound as his body slammed into the dried mud.

"Ew…" she rose and brushed off the dust from her armor and then crossed through to the hallway where she found more draugr, these positioned in upright stances in their little cubby holes in the walls. Athena, not wanting to waste any more time, crouched down and snuck quietly past the slumbering dead. She had finally made it to the Hall of Stories.

It was a broad hallway, and on both sides of the walls, carvings told a story of Nords conquering dragons, which Athena assumed to be the draugr that were sleeping in the crypt. At the end of the hall, there was a door made of three wheels. Each wheel had a circle with the animals that were similar to the ones on the golden claw.

Athena reached for it in her bag: a bear, a moth, an owl, from top to bottom. She turned each of the wheels to match the images on the claw and then at the bottom of the third wheel, a circle with three holes accepted the three talons of the claw. She pushed it in and turned the claw to the right. Suddenly, all the wheels rotated to all owls and then the door lowered beneath the floor.

Athena crossed through and found herself in a cavern. There were several openings at the top which kept the far end well lit. There, on a higher area of the cavern, a wall stood magnificently, guarding a coffin on a platform.

Athena made her way across the bridge that connected the entrance with the other end of the cavern. She could hear a faint chanting, a throbbing in her head as she neared the wall. It was concave and on the bottom half, a script was carved into the stone. Above the script, a structure resembling a dragon's head, jutted from the wall and surrounding it, magnificent designs swirled about the structure, appearing almost like script, but was merely just decoration.

The chanting thudded in her head as she neared the wall, climbing the stone stairs; she couldn't understand the language, and it gave her a minor headache. When she was only a couple of feet away from the wall, it seemed as if the cavern was growing dark. She stared at the inscription, to her, the carvings were just lines and dots; a script she couldn't read nor interpret. The symbols began to glow and Athena fell to her knees as she stared at one particular "word" that seemed to be coming out of the wall.

She was growing dizzy and the chants were louder than ever, she felt a sense of energy surging into her, a power she had never felt before and then as soon as it had started, everything went quiet and the light came back to the room. With her headache gone, she rose to her feet, still slightly lightheaded though, and turned around, her vision a little blurry.

Athena felt an urgency growing in her throat, a lump as if she were about to cry, but she didn't cry.

"FUS!" she projected an ear-deafening shout, a whirlwind of air escaping from her mouth. The shout let out such a force, Athena toppled backwards and watched as the top of the coffin on the platform, flew up at least 6 feet into the air and crumbled with a crash as it hit the stone floor.

_What did I just do?!_ Suddenly, a hand reached outside the coffin and a draugr lifted himself out of his bed. Athena was slightly relieved, but only for a moment, when the draugr laughed creepily.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" he grabbed his axe, glowing blue and white, and his shield and came for Athena. She dizzily unsheathed her sword and took a stance with her back against the Word Wall. "RAH!" the draugr shouted and Athena stumbled to the floor.

_It can shout?!_ She glanced up at the menacing blue eyes that peered at her from beneath the dragon bone helmet. She stabbed upward and sliced through the draugr's chest. She felt the lump in her throat growing again.

"FUS!" she shouted and the draugr fell to his knees. Her vision threw her off, and instead of stabbing him in the neck as she planned, she stabbed right underneath his shoulder blade. The draugr rose and cut Athena's armor, leaving a half inch gash in the iron that covered her body. She sliced again, but the draugr stepped to the right, barely missing the end of her sword.

"FUS!" she shouted and the draugr fell backwards. She hurriedly limped above him and stabbed him in the chest, again and again she stabbed until finally he moved no more. She sighed and collapsed on the cold stone; staring up at the ceiling, the room began to spin and Athena soon found herself unconscious.

_Athena woke. She could see herself standing outside of a small cottage. Smoke rose from the chimney and at the side of the house, Athena was peering into a window. Athena swooped down beside her body and looked into the window as well._

_A wolf-dog slept peacefully in front of a fireplace which crackled in the dimly lit house. There was a couple stooped over something. The woman had fine brown hair that reached down to her mid-back and the man, black hair that was tucked behind his ears, reaching his shoulders. The woman turned to the man and spoke._

_"Look at how beautiful she is, Dynami."_

_"I know, Omorfia." The man replied._

_The woman then moved to the left and the man to the right, revealing a baby, sleeping in a cradle. Her soft cheeks were rosy pink and her eyes darted back and forth as her mind wandered in the fields of her dream. The mother and father seemed proud of their newborn baby; her strength and her beauty._

_Athena's body turned to Athena's spectator and spoke in a casual tone, much like women do when speaking of people in their neighborhood._

_"They had been trying for years to have this baby. They cherish this baby more than anything in all of Tamriel. She's everything they ever hoped and dreamed of, ever since they were married."_

_Then the mother spoke once more to her husband._

_"What should we name her?"_

_"I think we should call her…"_

Athena gradually opened her eyes and she sat up. The cave was still lit, so she knew she was only passed out for a few minutes. She decided to rest for a few more before she finally rose to her wobbly feet. Inside the draugr's tomb, she found a stone tablet, with an inscription very similar to the one on the Word Wall. She found gems and gold in the sarcophagus and retrieved the draugr's axe for herself.

With the treasure she hurried up the steps at the right and found her way back out into Skyrim. It was night time when she emerged from Bleak Falls Barrow and the travel to Riverwood was exhausting for her; not because it was so late, but because of the power she absorbed from the wall. The energy had exhausted her and as soon as she entered the Sleeping Giant Inn, she drunkenly tossed some coins in the innkeeper's direction and passed out on a bed.


End file.
